In the current full Hollywood365 list there are 12 films by Steven Spielberg followed by Martin Scorsese with 8. Other repeat directors include James Cameron, Joel Coen, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan and Richard Linklater. If I was talking about sets I’d want to work on just to watch the director, Scorsese would be the clear favorite. If you only get front row seats one time, you want to watch Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth or Muhammad Ali. You want to be in the kitchen with Julia Child, in the recording studio when Nirvana creates “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
For 20+ years I’ve looked at this as the disappointing attempt to recapture Goodfellas glory. I now have the distance to judge this on its own merits and most of it is pretty good. The biggest problem is that it doesn’t know how to pull us into the world and is wobbly with anxiousness to tell us too much right away. Once it settles into familiar patterns, Scorsese and company are entertaining and at a breathless pace. I also have a new appreciation for Sharon Stone. Never thought of her as a great actress, but she’s really strong most of the time here and well-utilized in what will probably be her greatest role. I’d love to see the shorthand way Scorsese works with De Niro and Pesci, but how does Stone work with him to bring so much to the surface?
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